What Makes A Good Logo?

A good logo is important for every business. It is important to remember that a logo is the face of your company and something that is going to be attached to every piece of marketing or content your company produces.

In order to have an effective logo, make sure it is:

1. Simple yet elegant
2. Timeless
3. Appropriate

It is important to make sure your logo has these three attributes or a great idea can turn into ahorrible marketing display.

Simple and Elegant

A good logo is simple. A simple logo is one that can be instantly recognized by anyone that sees it. A simple logo is one that does not have more than four colors and can also look good in black and white print. A logo needs to have less than 20 characters, and it must be memorable. An elegant logo also has a meaning behind it.

For example, the logo for Apple is an apple which represents knowledge,while FedEx’s logo has an arrow showing moving forward. Both of these logos use a minimal amount of colors and words. They also have simple and relatable attributes such as apples and letters.

It is important to make sure that your logo is effective in conveying the message you want when people see  it.

Timeless

It is important to have a logo that is timeless. Fads are always coming and going and even though your logo might catch traction at one time, in the long run it is hard to keep a persona if your logo is outdated. When creating a logo it is important to consider if it will be effective a year from now, five years, 10 years, and 50 years from now? Logos should try to avoid using key word fads or regional fads as well. Forexample, “ya’ll” might work in Texas, but if your business expands to California; your business will have a Texan connotation.

When looking at the Pepsi and Coca-Cola example, it is clear that a logo needs to be timeless, as changes can cause issues in rebranding along with connecting the company across many target audiences. Pepsi’s logo is trying to always be modern and revolutionize while Coca Cola is keeping their original logo with some types of adaptation keeping it connected.

This can cause two ways of thinking toward Pepsi. People will either think Pepsi is trying to adapt to their newer targets or that Pepsi is having a hard time maintaining one image. In a recent survey, 64% of people were not able to guess which Pepsi Logo is the most recent one.

Appropriate

The meaning of appropriate can be taken in many different directions. It is important that a logo suits, or is appropriate for, their target audience. The logo must be able to attract its target audience and they must be able to relate to it.

There are many ways to showcase an appropriate logo — by font, colors design, etc.. A logo for a Disney or ToysRus will not have the same font or color choice as a United States Government Department. Logos should be appropriate for the client’s entire product line and not feature their products. Although a business may think they will not be expanding their product line, it is important not to be too specific about your products and services too soon.

By Sahil Maherali, Digital Sapien

This Article originally appeared on digitalmarketingsapiens.com

How Social Media Affects Online Reviews

In Essence, Social Media Posts Are Online Reviews!

Whether you’ve made your way into the social sphere or not, customers are letting their friends and family know how great or unsatisfying your service is via social media. If you think of social networks as customer service reviews without the rating scale, you’ll see that people are constantly posting their opinions about your brand! That word-of-mouth spreads to anyone who listens (e.g. their followers), so it’s important to acknowledge posts that praise your brand and offer solutions to users who had a bad experience.

This is your opportunity to engage with your customers. Having an account on the social network your customers are posting from will allow your business to not only bring out daily awareness for those who follow your page, but also allow you to respond quickly to positive and negative comments.

They’re Thinking What Their Friends Are Saying.

Also known as influencer marketing, 92% of consumers believe recommendations from friends and family, according to Nielsen’s latest Global Trust in Advertising report. Social media users are giving their review of your company to their friends and family, which not only promotes awareness for your brand but also sets expectations for what your future customers look forward to when choosing your product or service.

Social Media Can Bring In Major Traffic.

If you’ve nailed the social mediamarketing tactics, you’ll see an increase in followers, attention, people talking about your brand and most importantly a significant ROI (Return On Investment). A few brief methods you can use to bring traffic include following your target audience, posting frequently, and encouraging fantastic customers to leave feedback online.

But It Can Also Destroy Your Reputation!

Of course, it’s not always 100% positive feedback. Being able to respond to negative reviews as soon as possible will give you the opportunity to turn it into a positive experience for the user. Recover and resolve the problem before it catches fire, and do it in the most appreciative way possible where you respect their input. This has the potential to uplift your reputation rather than depreciate it.

Note: Sometimes it’s impossible to come to a resolution. In this case, your last option is to remove them from your network. In a scenario where there’s no way to come to an understanding, taking them out of your social circle will avoid possible escalated events.

If you feel convinced that it’s important to hop onto the social media sphere, great. Do it. Being able to get in touch with your customers from as many mediums as possible and develop a sense of recognition can lead to positive reviews, customer loyalty, and even people referring others to buy your product or use your services. Additionally, it will allow you to have more control over what your customers are saying about you online.

Read more about the importance of online reputation here.

By Ramil Rodriguez, Digital Sapien

This Article originally appeared on digitalmarketingsapiens.com

Digital Marketing Jargon: Part 4

In a growing industry such as advertising, businesses are constantly transitioning from traditional marketing (billboards, television commercials, and radio ads) to online marketing (social media marketing, SEO, blogging). But usually the terms are confusing to businesses owners that are unfamiliar with digital marketing. Luckily we’ve compiled a series of web posts that will help you interpret the digital marketing jargon in order to help your business grow and succeed. At the end of this series, you’ll have one page serving as an online dictionary, which will cover all the terms discussed in each post. To continue from our last post, here are a few additional vocabulary words you should get familiar with.

Social Media – any and all online tools, platforms, or networks that allow users to generate and share content, as well as interact with others. These include social networks, blogs, file-hosting sites, etc.

Social Network –  is a type of social media platform that works like a community where users can communicate, follow, and respond to other users. Social networks usually engage in the community within their website, but also have the ability to share with other social networks (Instagram has this feature).

Spam – any message that is deemed as an unwanted or overwhelming commercial offer. These can be direct messages, email messages, social media posts, and other public or private forms of communication. In digital marketing, spam is a strategy that is avoided at all costs because it provides very little results and can give businesses a bad reputation.

Tag – a keyword attached to any content that makes it recognizable to be discovered by others on the internet. These tags help categorize content by subject, and is also commonly referred to as a hashtag in social media.

Time on site – refers to the amount of time that website visitors stay on a landing page or website before exiting. These can be individually tracked or averaged based on the total amount of visitors.

TweetUp – An informal meeting in which Twitter users gather for a designated purpose and then tweet about it before, throughout, and after the event.

Twitter – a social networking site that offers the ability for users to post a “tweet”. Each post is limited to 140 characters and can be replied to, liked, and retweeted. Twitter is a public network that connects users through follows, lists, and the use of hashtags (see “tag”).

URL – a short and more commonly known acronym for Uniform Resource Locator, a URL is a unique address for a website or file that is accessible on the internet.

YouTube – a website dedicated to sharing videos across one of the largest online communities on the internet. This site allows you to upload, view, and comment on videos, as well as subscribing to users or channels to be updated when future videos are uploaded.

If you haven’t already:

Click here to read Digital Marketing Jargon Part 1.

Click here to read Digital Marketing Jargon: Part 2.

Click here to read Digital Marketing Jargon Part 3.

Next week Digital Marketing Sapiens will release its final set of marketing terms that will make it easier for you to get comfortable and confident with the in-and-outs of online marketing. Stay connected with us through Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to be updated with new terminology that will allow your business to dig deeper into the power of digital marketing.

By Ramil Rodriguez, Digital Sapien

This Article originally appeared on digitalmarketingsapiens.com

Digital Marketing Jargon: Part 3

If you’re new to the digital marketing world, or unfamiliar with what online advertising has to offer, you are definitely not the only one. Any business that is not making this transition is either unaware of how effective and inexpensive it is to have an online ad, or is unfamiliar with the concept of digital marketing. Luckily we’ve compiled a series of web posts that will help you interpret the digital marketing jargon that will help your business grow and succeed. At the end of this series, you’ll have one page serving as an online dictionary for you, which will cover all the terms discussed in each post. To continue from last week’s list of jargon, here are a few additional vocabulary words you should get familiar with.

LinkedIn – A more professional version of social media where members can connect with other users, share posts, recruit, and hire users. This social network is very career focused, meaning that each user’s profile is used as a resume in many cases, and shows credibility from past and present experience.

Podcast – Audio or video content that is a form of online broadcasting. Podcasts usually appeal to a specific type of audience that views the content based on the host’s programming (daily, weekly, monthly) and can often subscribe to receive these audio/video files.

Profile – A description of a specified user, usually on a social network, that contains information about the user. This information varies depending on the type of social media and how one decides to utilize their personal page.

Rankings – The placement of a website’s listing on a page of search engine results.

Reach – The total size of the audience that has been reached.

Return On Investment – More commonly known as “ROI”, the return on investment is a percentage of profit from a campaign or digital marketing activity.

Search Engine – A website used to search the Web for specific keywords related to the information being sought. The results depend on the website, but typically show results including websites, images, videos, news, products, or locations on a map.

Search-Engine Marketing – Abbreviated as “SEM”, search-engine marketing is any activity that allows a website to be marketing on a search engine website. Some examples include paid placement within searches, and search engine optimization (see definition).

Search Engine Optimization – More commonly known as “SEO”, search engine optimization is the process of using website analytics with the proper copy, design, and structure to ensure that a website or web page is at the top of search engine results pages.

Every week Digital Marketing Sapiens will release a new set of marketing terms that will make it easier for you to get comfortable and confident with the in-and-outs of online marketing.

If you haven’t already, click here to read Digital Marketing Jargon Part 1.

If you missed last week’s list, click here to read Digital Marketing Jargon: Part 2.

Stay connected with us through Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to be updated with new terminology that will allow your business to dig deeper into the power of digital marketing for your business.

By Ramil Rodriguez, Digital Sapien

This Article originally appeared on digitalmarketingsapiens.com

Reaching Your Audience On YouTube

Following only Google and Facebook, Youtube is ranked as one of the top three visited websites in the world.It’s not hard to understand why! This site is a powerful tool where users can upload, view, rate, share, and comment on videos. Youtube has a wide variety of content from video clips, television clips, music videos, movie trailers, original videos, and educational videos. Sixty hours of videos are uploaded every minute and four billion videos are played daily. The popularity of YouTubemakes it the perfect base for a business to market to any target.

What Are The Benefits Of Advertising On YouTube?

• Connecting with your audience – Video ads are a great way to connect with your audience in a unique way. Your video can be personal, a hard engagement sale, or other forms of engagement.
• Reaching the right audience– Reaching an audience is the most important part of creating a marketing strategy. No matter how great your advertisement might be, if it does not reach your target audience, it will not lead to sales. YouTubecanfocus your advertisements towards your costumer is with topics, keywords, or demographics as well.
• Measuring Analytics -The detailed analytics offered by YouTube is a great way to see how your advertisements are working.

There are two forms of advertisements on Youtube. These options are great ways to help get your ad the exposure and results you want.

1. In-sStream Ads– In-stream ads are advertisements hat display before, during, or after a video. This advertisement can include call-to-action overlays, cards, companion banners, and other ways for a viewer to land on your website. The company is only charged for an in-stream-ad if a viewer watches the entire advertisement.

In-Display Ads– In-Display-Ads are another way to get viewers to watch your advertisements. These ads are

1. brought up when people are searching on YouTube or browsing videos on YouTube. These advertisements appear near a video and are only charged if someone begins watching your video.

Reaching potential customers is easy with the correct steps in place! Keyword contextual targeting is an easy way to make sure that your ad gets to the correct viewers. Selecting demographics is also a great way to reach potential clients as well. For example, a barbecue set can be targeted for men over the age of 30. Topics can also be a great way to target a specific audience. For instance, a textbook company can target those who watch math tutorials. Affinity audiences and custom affinity audiences are a great way to also target interest based groups for your need and tailored to individual brands. In-market audiences are also a great way for those who are researching keyword products or services to ensure your product. Remarketing is the final strategy in which the advertisements will be based off of a search history.

YouTube is a great medium to display your message to clients through advertisements videos which are cost effective to make!

This Article originally appeared on digitalmarketingsapiens.com